Loveless in the City of Love
by BandJLuvr
Summary: Something's wrong at Britin--Brian doesn't seem to realize Justin's come home!
1. Chapter 1

Justin was so excited. His stint in New York was over. He couldn't wait to get back to Pittsburgh—he wondered if Brian had missed him. Why wouldn't he? They'd agreed to be married just before he left!

As he made his way up Britin's walk, he smiled. Brian was home. He laughed as he thought of how surprised Brian would be to see him again!

He practically ran up the walk, threw open the door, and called, "Bri-an! Your Sunshine's home!"

No answer.

_That's strange_, Justin thought. Usually the sound of his voice was enough to get Brian running into his arms!

Heading upstairs, he searched every room. Finally, he saw him—hunched over his laptop.

Slipping inside, he softly kissed Brian on the cheek. But all that got was a sad sigh in return.

The phone rang, jolting him out of his misery. Heading downstairs, he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Justin?" At least someone was glad he was home. "Is that you?"

"Hi, Mom," he said, sighing.

"Honey?" Jennifer could tell something was wrong. "What's wrong—was—was Brian not glad to see you?"

"I—I honestly don't know, Mom," he replied, sighing again. "It's—it's like he's ignoring me!"

"Well, I hate to bring this up seeing as you just got back," Jennifer suggested, "but maybe you just need more time apart."

"But—where would I go?" Justin wondered.

"I don't know, honey," Jennifer replied.

"I can't believe he'd just ignore me like that," Justin sighed, his voice starting to shake. "I—I thought he loved me!"

"Oh, Justin," Jennifer said, "I'm sure he still loves you—maybe—maybe he's just got a lot on his mind lately. Give it a day or two and maybe he'll come around."

"OK, Mom," Justin sighed. "I—I hope you're right." Hanging up the phone, he wondered if things would ever be the same between him and Brian again.


	2. Chapter 2

He knew where he needed to go. Making the necessary arrangements, he walked back out of Britin, back to the airport. But he didn't leave before faxing his itinerary to Jennifer.

Jennifer was tired—it had been a long day, and she was ready to go home, but the fax interrupted her thoughts. Looking at the screen, she saw Brian and Justin's number. Maybe it was Brian, wanting to clarify things. But taking one look at the paper that had come in, she knew—

Justin had gone to Paris.

Justin sighed and leaned back in his seat. Where had he gone wrong? He thought of Babylon, and the night Brian finally confessed his love. Maybe now that he was headed for the City of Love, he might find someone who would actually be glad to have his love—who would give him what he so needed!

Paris—just what the doctor ordered to take your mind off a love gone wrong. Justin took in the sights, tasted the wonderful food—even found the local scene, where he indulged in a few tricks. But—it wasn't worth it if Brian wasn't there to share it all!


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, back in Pittsburgh, Brian also sighed. It was finished—he smiled and closed his laptop. If only Justin knew what he had done!

Heading downstairs, he saw a piece of paper by the phone—an extra copy of Justin's flight itinerary, in case Brian was so inclined to care.

_Paris_, Brian wondered. Why would Justin go to Paris, unless—?

It dawned on him what had happened. He'd been so engrossed in his computer work that he didn't realize Justin was home—he hadn't even been aware that Justin had kissed him on the cheek in an effort to let him know he was back!

His eyes filled with tears. _Some husband I'm going to be_, he thought, _when I can't even let my Sunshine know how much I missed him!_

There was only one thing to do. Heading to Woody's, Brian hoped to drown his sorrows.

When he got there, it seemed Woody's had become the new hangout. "Brian!" came the call, as everyone waved him over. Sitting down with a heavy sigh, Brian ordered a strong drink.

"So, have you heard from Justin?" Michael wanted to know.

"Well, he's not in New York anymore," Brian sighed.

"He's home?" Debbie asked. "He certainly didn't let me know!"

"Well—no," Brian replied. "He's not in New York, but he's not home, either."

"Where'd he go?" Emmett wanted to know.

Brian sighed again. "He went to Paris."

"Paris?" Michael was surprised. "What's he doing in Paris?"

"Probably trying to get me off his mind," Brian sighed.

"What do you mean?" Ben wanted to know.

Brian sighed again, explaining everything, up to the itinerary he had found. "I guess he thought I was too busy to care that he was back."

"You weren't—were you?" Debbie wanted to know.

"Of course not," Brian replied. "He means the world to me!"

"Sounds like you need to call and explain everything," Debbie suggested.

Call—or—

"I—I've got to go," Brian said. "I'll—I'll call you guys later." Heading back to Britin, he arranged his own flight to Paris.


	4. Chapter 4

Landing at the Paris airport, Brian rented a car and hurried to the hotel where he knew Justin was staying. He regretted not responding to Justin's soft kiss, but what he'd been doing—well, it was _that_ important.

When he got there, he got the room number and hurried upstairs. When he found it, he knocked softly.

"Who is it?" came a muffled—post-crying—response.

"It's your Brian," Brian called, trying not to break down himself.

He heard footsteps approaching and stepped back. In his arms he cradled a bouquet of one dozen roses he'd picked up from a local florist.

The door opened, and there stood Justin. His clothes were unkempt, his hair a disheveled mess, but at that moment, he was a welcome sight to Brian.

"Brian—" Justin couldn't believe it. "What—what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, _Sunshine_," Brian smiled, handing over the roses.

Justin looked up at him, and he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "Am I—am I really still—"

"Yes, Justin," Brian replied, as tears rolled down his face. "Come here."

All Justin could do was fall into Brian's arms and sob. "I—I love you so much, Brian—I—"

"Shh…" Brian whispered, holding him closer than ever as he just kissed the tears away. "I—I guess I owe you an apology. I knew you'd kissed me," he continued, "but I couldn't—I couldn't stop. What you saw—well," he laughed softly, "to tell you the truth, I was planning our honeymoon."

"You—you were planning our honeymoon?" Now Justin felt bad—for assuming the worst. "But why—why couldn't you just say so—instead of scaring me half to death?"

"I'm sorry," Brian said, holding him closer. "You are so, so important to me, Justin—everything I've done since Babylon has been an effort to make you happy—and I thought it would be a nice surprise."

"But—where would we go?" Justin wondered.

Brian just grinned and whispered in Justin's ear, "Why, Sunshine, I was planning on bringing you here."

Now Justin just took Brian in his arms and cried. "What would I do without you?" He sighed happily as Brian leaned in and kissed a stray tear away. "I—I don't deserve you."

"No," Brian laughed, "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. I know you love me, Justin—and when I can't stop what I'm doing to welcome my prince home, well, it just makes me wonder what kind of husband I'm going to be."

"Surely you're not suggesting—" Justin was afraid to ask.

"No," Brian laughed again, "we'll still go through with the wedding—I just realized I'd be nothing without my Sunshine—my prince—and when you left, I just had to come, too—to see if I couldn't bring back that Sunshine smile I love so much to the Sunshine I love so much."

For the rest of the week, Brian and Justin did a lot of making up—lovemaking, romantic dinners for two—both in and out of the hotel—and intermittent kisses in between. By the time they were ready to go home, they were both renewed—with energy and with hope—that their relationship hadn't really suffered at all!


End file.
